Automatic phonograph



May 5, 1936. .1. VAUGHN 2,039,756

AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed April 15, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet l May 5, 1936.J. L. VAUGHN AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed A ril 15, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet 2May 5, 1936. J. VAUGHN AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed A ril 15, 1929 12Sheets-Sheet 3 flag/aw (7071/14 Z W 1%,

May 5, 1936. 1 VAUGHN 2,039,756

AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed April 15, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet 4 May 5, 1936.J. VAUGHN 2,039,756

' AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed April 15, 1929 lzsheets-sheet 6 May 5,1936.

J. VAUGHN AUTOMAT I C PHONQGRAPH l2 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed April 15, 1929i596? HUI MW HE J. L. VAUGHN momma ruouoemrn Filed A ril-15, 192a m Mm 8h m w w/@\ t 1|- w 0 g a J I W m m A r \m Am I Ew m v u n E Q May 5,1936.

May 5, 1936.

. 1. L. VAUGHN AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed April 15, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet9.

" Eden/fif- May 5, 1936. J. LfvAuGHN 2,039,756

AUTOMATIC r'nouoemra Filed April 15, 1923 12 Sheets-Sheet 1O May 5,1936. J. L. VAUGHN 2,039,756

AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed April 15, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet 11 y 6- J. L.VAUGHN 2,039,756

AUTOMATIC mouoemrg Filed A ril 15, 1929 12 Sheets-Sheet 12' GDGD pa a aQM 2% 2am;

Patented May 5, -1936 PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH John L. Vaughn,Cicero, 111., assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Rudolph WurlitzerManufacturing Company, North Tonawanda, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication April 15, 1929, Serial No. 355,163

' x I 22 Claims. The object of this invention is to provide an automaticphonograph of novel construction, arrangement and operation. 7 Thephonograph of the invention is entirely 5 automatic in its operation.When started, it removes a record from a rack containing a number ofrecords, places the record on a rotating turntable in correct playingposition irrespective of the size of the record, swings a tone arm intoa position wherein the needle carried by the sound box on them isdirectly over the preliminary grooves in the record irrespective of thesize of the latter, lowers thetone arm and needle onto the record, playsone side of the record, lifts the 15 tone arm as soon as the record hasbeen played, removes the record from the turntable, turns the recordover, again swings the tone arm intoa position wherein the needle isdirectly over the preliminary grooves in the record, lowers the tone g0arm, plays the other side of the record, lifts the tone arm as soon asthe record has been played, returns the record to the rack, removes thenext record from the rack, similarly plays that record, first on oneside and then on the other, and con- 25 tinues in the same way to playall of the records in the rack on both sides. After the last record hasbeen played, the phonograph will play all of the records on both sidesover again, repeating the series again and again until shut oil.

30 The phonograph is an improvement in many respects over the so-calledautomatic phonographs of the prior art. It turns each record and playsboth sides before taking up another record, thus making possible theplaying of an entire 3 opera or symphony recorded in any number ofparts, each part in its proper turn, and leaving all of the records inproper position to be repeated when reached again; it plays both -inchand 12-inch records positioned at random in the rack;

40 it supports the records in such a way as to prevent warpage; ithandles the records perfectly without any possibility of injury; it isabsolutely reliable in its operation; it requires very little power, a1/30 horse power motor being suflicient for the operation of all of theparts; it is absolutely noiseless, all of the parts being belt driven;and the cost of manufacture, comparedwith that of other automaticphonographs, is very low, no

50 precision work' being required, and but a verysmall percentage of theparts being machined.

While the foregoing, statements are indicative in a general way of thenature of the invention, other objects and advantages will be apparent65 to those skilled in the. art upon a full understanding of theconstruction, arrangement and operation of the phonograph.

One form of the invention is presented herein for the purpose ofexemplification, but it will of course be appreciated that the inventionis ca- 5 pable of embodiment in other structurally modified forms comingequally within the scope of .the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the phonograph, with 10 the outside ornamentalcasing removed;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the phonograph, looking toward the right-handside;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, showing only the right-hand side ofthe phonograph;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section, taken on approximately the line 4-4 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section, taken on approxi- 'mately the line 55 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section, taken on approximately the line 6-6 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section, taken on approximately the line 1-1 ofFig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary rear view, showing only the upperright-handportion of the phonograph;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view, looking down on the rear right-handportion shown in Fig. 8;-

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section, taken on approximately the line lit-I0of Fig. 1, showing the clutch-controlling mechanism in its neutral orstarting position;

Fig. 11 is a corresponding section, showing the clutch-controllingmechanism in its second position;

Fig. 12 is a corresponding section, showing the clutch-controllingmechanism in its third position;

Fig. 13 is a vertical section, taken on approximately the line 13-43 ofFig. 10, showing in detail the clutch-throwing arm, with the clutchcollar removed for clearness in illustration;

Fig. 14 is a horizontal section, taken on approximately the line l4l4 ofFig. 13.;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary front view,- showing the front record carrierin an elevated position;

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary rear view of the same record carrier;

Fig. 17 is alongitudinal section takenon the line l'I-ll of Fig. 16;

Fig. 18 is a fragmentary front view of the lower portion of the recordrack; and

Fig. 19 is a horizontal section, taken on the line l9l9 of Fig. 18. f

.As will be observed in the drawings, the va- I5 rious cooperativemechanisms which together constitute the phonograph are mounted in anopenwork frame Ill, which frame is adapted to fit within a cabinet (notshown) of any suitable description. The motive power used in operatingthe phonograph is derived from a small electric motor II which, toprevent vibration, is suspended on four coil springs l2 in the lowerright front corner of the frame. The motor drives a countershaft l3 inthe lower right rear corner of the frame through a belt l4 which passes7 over a small pulley IS on the armature shaft of the motor and a largepulley IS on the countershaft. The countershaft I3 'is journaled inbearing brackets l1 and carriestwo small pulleys I8 and I9 (see Fig.10).

An operating shaft 20 is journaled in bearing brackets 2! above themotor in parallel relation to the countershaft, and is driven by thelatter first in one direction and then in the other through two belts 22and 23. The belt 22 is crossed and passes over both the pulley l8 and alarge pulley 24 which is journaled on the operating shaft, while thebelt 23 passes over both the pulley I9 and a large pulley 25 which isjournaled on the operating shaft in spaced relation to the pulley 24. Aclutch collar 26 is splined on the operating shaft between the pulleys24 and 25, andis provided at its opposite ends with clutch lugs 21 and28 which are adapted to engage respectively with clutch notches 29 and'30 presented by the adjacent faces of the pulleys 24 and 25.

At certain times in the operation of the phonograph the clutch collar 26is shifted axially on the operating shaft by means of a roller 3| whichis mounted on one end of a clutch-throwing arm 32 and rides within anannular groove 33 in the outer periphery of the collar. When the collaris shifted toward the left side of the phonograph, the lug 21 on thecollar engages within one of the notches 29 on the pulley 24 (see Fig.11), causing the operating shaft 20 to be rotated in a acounterclockwise direction as viewed from the right side of the figure,and, when the collar is ,shifted toward the right side, the lug 28engages within one of the notches 30 in the pulley 25 (see Fig. 12causing the operating shaft to be rotated in a clockwise direction. Inthe central position of the collar (see Fig. 10), the operating shaft 20is of course at rest.

The operating shaft 20 is provided at one end thereof with a worm 34which meshes upwardly with a worm gear 35 which issecured to a controlshaft 36.

naled adjacent its ends in bearing brackets 31 (see Figs. 2' and 4). Inthe operation of the phonograph, the control shaft rotatesintermittently first in one direction and then in the other through anangle of approximately 180 degrees. The various mechanisms with whichthe control shaft 36 cooperates, as well as the nature of the coactiontherebetween, will be subsequently described.

A turntable 38 is mounted in the upper righthand portion of the frame onthe upper end of A disk 4|, which has a felt washer 42 on the lower facethereof, is secured to the spindle 39 below the bracket 40, and a pulley43, which is journaled on the spindle below the disk 4|, is pressed intofrictional engagement with the felt washer 42 by means of a coil spring44 which urges a small disk 45 up- The control shaft is positioned atright angles to the operating shaft, and is jourwardly against the hubof the pulley. The disk 45, which has a felt washer 46 on the upper facethereof, is prevented from turning relative to the spindle by means of avertical pin 41 which is mounted eccentrically in a collar 48 secured tothe spindle and passes upwardly through an eccentric aperture in an'earon the disk 45. The spring-pressed disks 4| and 45 provide a'yieldablefriction drive between the pulley 43 and the spindle 33. The speed atwhich the turntable is rotated is maintained constant by meansof acentrifugal governor 43 of any suitable construction. The governor isjournaledin bearing brackets 50, and is provided with a worm 5| whichmeshes with a; worm gear 52 which is secured 15 to the spindle 33 justbelow the collar 48. The upper end of the spindle 39 projects throughthe turntable far enough to provide a recordcentering stud 53, while thelower end of the spindle projects downwardly through an aperture in aportion 54 of the frame and is limited in its downward movement by ashoulder 55 on the spindle which bears against the portion 54 of theframe when a record is not being played.

Just prior to the playing of a record, the turntable 38 is shiftedvertically by means of an L- shaped arm 56 to position the stud 53within the hole in the center of the record. The arm 56 is pivoted tothe portion 54 of the frame at 51 (see Fig. 2'), and, when a finger 58which is secured to the control shaft revolves into engagement with acam lip 59 on the lower end of the arm 56, the upper horizontallyextending portion of the arm is caused to move upwardly into engagementwith the lower end of the spindle (see Fig. 4) whereby to elevate thesame. Downward movement of the horizontally extending portion, 60 of thearm 56 is limited by a stop 6| which is secured to the lower face of theportion 54 of the frame.

The pulley 43, which is journaled on thespindle 33 between thespring-pressed frictiondisks 4| and 45, is driven by a belt 62 which,after passing about the pulley 43, extends horizontally over 'two idlerpulleys 63 and 64 and then downwardly about a small pulley 65 which isfixedly associated with the pulley 25. The idler pulley 63 is journaledin one end of an arm 66 which is pivotally mounted on a bracket 61 andis connected at the end opposite the pulley with a tensioned coil spring'63 which presses the pulley toward the belt 62 whereby to maintain thelatter under tension. The turntable is intended to rotateat-approximately 80 R. P. M., and the govemor 43 serves to maintain itat that speed even though the pulley 43 is rotated by the belt 62 at agreater speed.

v the sound box is mounted on one end of the tone arm. The tone arm ispivoted at 13 to a communicating tubular support 14 which is mounted .ona shelf-like portion 15 of the frame, and the pivotal connection is suchas to permit the sound box on the tone arm to be swung both horizontallyand vertically to a limited extent. The free end of the tone arm israised at certain times in the operation of the phonograph by means ofan irregularly shaped belicrank lever 16 (see Fig. 3) which is pivotallymounted in a bracket I! attached to the portion 15 of the frame. One arm18 of the bellcrank lever is curved on a radius about the pivotal axis13 of the tone arm and extends beneath the same. An anti-friction roller19 is mounted on the bottom of the tone arm directly above the curvedarm I8 and suppo s the weight of the reproducer on the arm 18 when thelatter is elevated to lift the needle 12 out of engagement with a recordon the turntable. The other arm 89 of the bellcrank lever is connectedat its free end with a downwardly extending link M. The lower end of thelink 8| is pivotally connected to one of the ends of a Y-shaped lever 82(see Fig. 5) which is pivotally connected to the frame at 83, and theother end of the lever 92 carries a roller 84 which rides against theperiphery of a cam disk .85 secured to the control shaft 36. The roller84 is pressed against the periphery of the cam disk by means of a'spring86 which extends between the link BI and a portion 91 of the frame andtends to hold the link ill in its upwardly shifted position with thecurved arm I9 of the bellcrank lever I9 in its lowered position. Whenthe cam disk 85 revolves into a position wherein the roller 84 ridesinto a de- -pression 98 in the same, the curved arm 18 is lowered andlowers the sound box onto the record, and, when the cam disk 85 revolvesinto a position wherein the roller 84 is forced out of the depressedportion 88 (see Fig. 5), the curved arm I8 is raised and raises thesound box ofl of the record.

The tone arm I9, when lifted by the arm I8, is swung back along such armin a direction away from the axis of the turntable by means of a finger89 (see Figs. 2 and 3) which engages at one end with one side of thetone arm and is attached at the other end to a downwardly extending rod99 which is joumaled in suitable bearing apertures in vertically spacedportions 9i and 92 of the frame (see Fig. 5). A coil spring 93 attachedto the rod 99 causes the finger 89 to engage with the side of the tonearm and swing the same into its initial position after a record has beenplayed and the tone arm has been lifted. During the playing of a record,the finger 89 is held away from the tone arm through the action of astrip 94 (see Figs. 5 and 9) which is suspended below the portion 54 ofthe frame in a horizontal position by means of a swinging link 95. Therod 99 passes through a slot 96 in one end of the strip 94 and isprovided with an arm 91 on which the slotted end of the strip rests andon which a roller 98 is mounted inengagement with a curved cam surface99 on the slotted end-of the strip. When the tone arm 19 is ready to bemoved into its playing position, a finger I99'on the control shaft 36engages with the opposite notched end wt of the strip 94 and shifts thelatter toward the rod 99, causing the curved surface 99 on the slottedend of the strip to swing the roller 98 and the arm 91 carrying the samethrough a certain angle, resulting in the finger 89 being swung througha corresponding angle away from the tone arm against the yieldingresistance of the spring 93. After the record has been played on oneside and the tone arm has been lifted by the arm I8, the finger I99moves away from the notched end I9I of the strip 94 and permits thespring 93 to turn the rod 99 to allow the finger B9 toswing the tone arm10 back again to its initial position. As soon as the strip 94 isreleased it is returned to its original position by a spring I92.

The records played on the turntable 38 by the reproducer 69 are held ina rack I93 before and after being played. The rack is located in thelower left-hand side 'of the frame and consists of two parallel rows ofvertically extending separators I94 (see Figs. 6, l8 and 19). Theseparators are attached to two parallel sill members I95, and the sillmembers are connected together by means of two cross members I99. Thesill members carry rollers I91 which ride upon two parallel horizontallyextending rails I98 mounted in the frame adjacent the bottom of thesame. The weight of the rack is supported on the rollers I9I, but therack is prevented from moving laterally or vertically by means of hooksI99 which are attached to the sill' members and extends downwardly andoutwardly about the lower bottom edges of the rails. The records areinserted between each of the laterally opposed pairs of separators. Theseparators hold the records in vertical positions, while the sillmembers engage with the lower edges of therecords and center the samewith respect to the median plane of the rack irrespective of whether ornot the record is of 10-inch or 12-inch size.

After a record has been taken from the rack I99, and played on bothsides, and returned to the same compartment in the rack from which itwas taken, the rack is moved forwardly along the rails I 98 a distanceequal to the distance between the centers of adjoining compartments, themovement being accomplished by means of a ratchet arrangement (see Figs.18 and 19) which includes acircular disk H9 in which six pins II I aremounted in circumferentially spaced relation. The disk H9 is journaledon a stud II2 which is carried by the frame, and is prevented fromturning backward by means-of an upwardly spring-pressed escapement hookH3 which engages behind one of the pins III each time that the disk 9is'turned one-sixth of a revolution. A ratchet arm "I I4 is alsojournaled on the stud II2 alongside the disk H9, and pivotally supportsa pawl. I I5 which is pressed by a spring H6 into engagement with one ofthe pins III. A rod III is pivotally connected at one of its ends to theratchet arm H4 and is pivotally connected at its other end to the lowerend of an upwardly extending bar IIB (see Fig. 5) which is pivotallyconnected to a portion of the frame at H9. The upper end of the bar H8is beveled at I29 and-is adapted to engage with a roller I2I which ismountedon the outer end of an arm I22 which is secured to the controlshaft 36. Every time that the control shaft 36 revolves in a directionwherein the roller I2I is forced against the upper end of the barII8-which occurs twice in. the period during which a record is played onboth sides-the connecting rod III is shifted tothe right and the disk H9is caused by the pawl I I5 to turn one-sixth of a revolution in thedirection indicated by the curved arrow. A spring I23, which extendsbetween a portion of the frame and the rod II'I serves to return the rodand reset the pawl I I5 after every movement of the disk II9. Everyother time that the disk H9 is rotated one-sixth of a revolution, therack I93 is advanced the width of one compart ment by means of one ofthe pins III, which engages with the lower side edge I24 of theparticular separator happening to be directly above the disk II9: Onlyevery other one of the pins III extends rearwardly through the disk II9far enough to engage with the lower side edges of the separators, withthe result that the rack is advancedonly during every other move mentofthe disk. The advancement-of the rack along the rails I98 isyieldingly resisted by a spring I25 which encircles a. guide rod I26 andis compressed thereon between a lug I21 on the bottom of the rack and abracket I28 in which the right hand end-of the rod I26 is supported.-Every time that the rack is released after having been advanced thewidth of one of the compartments, the rack is prevented from movingbackward by means of a long pawl- I29 which is pivotally mounted to theframe at I30 and is pressed upwardly into engagement with the lower sideedge of one of the separators by a spring I3I.

When the rack I03 reaches its most advanced position, the pawl I29 isreleased, and the rack is moved all of the way back to its initialposition again by the spring I26, but only after the record in the lastcompartment has been played and returned to such compartment. This isaccomplished by the action of a laterally extending cam I32 on the frontside'of therack. When the last compartment in the rack moves intoalignment with the record-handling mechanism,

' which mechanism will hereinafter be described,

the cam I32 engages with an upwardly extending finger I 33 which isrigidly mounted on a bar I34 pivoted at I35 to the bottom of anextension on the pawl I29, and swings the bar I34 horizontally into aposition wherein one end I36 of the bar is just below one of the pinsIII which was in engagement.

' handling mechanism.

project rearwardly from the disk IIO. On the second partial revolutionof the disk IIO after this occurrence, the pin III abovethe end I36 ofthe bar I34 engages with such end, depresses the same and forces thenose of the pawl I29 downwardly out of engagement with the surface I24of the separator with which it previously The rack, upon thus beingreleased, is returned by the spring I25 into its initial position,wherein the first compartment in the rack is in alignment with therecord- As the rack reaches such initial position, it strikes against aspring-pressed buffer I31 on the frame, and an obliquely extending camI38 on the front endof the rack engages with the opposite side of thefinger I33 and swings the bar I34 about its pivotal axis I35 back intoits, initial position. In the initial position of the bar I34, anupwardly springpressed stud I39 carried by the bar rides into adepression in the downwardly extendingportion of the pawl I29, wherebyto prevent inadvertent pivotal movement of the bar I34 relative to thepar: and swung laterally by the cam I32.

The records are transferred back and forth between the rack I03. andtheturntable 38 by means of four traveling grippers I40 (see Figs. 6

and 7) which are bifurcated at their ends and' are provided within suchbifurcations with antifriction rollers MI. The grippers I40 arepivotally mounted in pairs on two carriages I42, and are caused to moveinto resiliently yieldable engagement with the edges of a record bymeans of springs I43 which tend to swing the grippers about theirpivotal axes I44. The grippers are caused to release a record by themovement of two plungers I45 which are reciprocably mounted in aperturesin the centers of the carriages. The inner ends of the plungers I45 areconnected with the adjacent ends of the grippers by means of links I46,and, when the grippers move inwardly into engagement with a record underthe force imparted-thereto by the springs I43, the outer ends of theplungers move outwardly beyond the outer faces of the carriages. Whenthe projecting ends of the plungers are pushed inwardly,

the grippers are retracted from the record. The.

I29 until the finger I33 is again engaged a sme rippers ynrmaeup andhold a 10-inch record or 12,- ,ch =record 'with equal facility. Thegrippers, iniitheir retracted positions, are substantially equidistantfrom the edges of a 12-inch record standing in the rack, but, when theyclose in on a 10-inch record, the rollers on the lowermo'st grippersimmediately cam the record upwardly into .centered relation 'to all ofthe grippers.

The carriages I42 are rotatably mounted on trucks I 41, and the axes ofrotation of the carriages are concentric with the axes of the plungersI45. The trucks I41 travel on two spaced L- shaped tracks I48 (seeFig. 1) which, conmiencing at points adjacent the front of the rack I03,extend-first upwardly and then horizontally, terminating a shortdistance beyond the location of the turntable 38.

The trucks are provided with anti-friction rollers I49 which engage withthe opposite edges of the tracks. During the vertical movement of thetrucks, the carriages are prevented from turning out of verticalpositions by' block formations I50 on the carriages (see Figs. 15 and17) which slide along vertical guides I5I, and, during the horizontalmovement of the trucks, the carriages are prevented from turning out ofa horizontal position by slidingengagement of the block formations I50with horizontal guides I52. The extent to which the trucks I41 can movedownwardly into operative relation to the rack I03 is determined by thelocation of stops I53 which are adjustably attached to the lower ends ofthe tracks I48 and abut with the edges of the trucks, while the extentto which the trucks can move horizontally into operative relation to theturntable 38 is determined by the location of moved back andforth'between the rack I03 and a the turntable 38 by means of rods I55(see Figs. 1 and 15) which are pivotally attached to the trucks at I56and are slidably mounted in spaced ears I51 formed on two arms I58. Thearms I58 are pivotally mounted on the control shaft 36 alongside tworelatively short' arms I59 which arerigidly attached to thecontrolshaft. The arms I59 are coupled to the arms I58 at certain times in theoperation of the phonograph by brackets I 60. The arms I58, in movingthe trucks I41 from positions opposite the rack to positions oppositethe turntable, move through an angle of approximately 120 degrees while,as previously stated, the control shaft moves through an angle ofapproximately 180 degrees. proximately the first and last 25 degrees oftheir movement, are uncoupled from the arms I58 by a rocking movement ofthe brackets I60. The brackets I60 are pivoted to the arms I59 at I6I(see Figs. 4, 15, 16 and 17) and are provided at their outer ends withpairs of spaced lugs I62 which embrace the arms I58 when the arms I58and I59 are to move in unison. During approximately both the first andlast 25 degrees of movement of the arms I59, cam rollers I63 on theinner ends of the brackets I69 ride up onto stationary cams I64 carriedby the brackets 31 in which the control shaft 36 is journaled, and causethe brackets I60 to rock about their pivotal axes against the yieldingresistance of springs I65, whereby to cause the lugs I 62 on thebrackets I60 to disengage from the arms I58. After the arms I 59 havebeen uncoupled from the arms I58, the arms I58 cease to move, while thearms I59 continue to The arms I 59, during ap-- move with the controlshaft. The arms I58 carry studs I66 which project toward the arms I59,while the arms I59 carry similar studs I61 which project toward the armsI58. The studs I66 and I61 are engaged by blades I68 which are pivotallymounted in pairs on the hub portions I69 of the arms I58 and are pressedtoward each other against the studs by coil springs I16 which areconnected to projections I1I on the blades. The blades I68 tend tomaintain the arms I58 in radial alignment with the arms I59. During theseparate movements of the arms I59, the springs I16 yield (see dottedline position in Fig. l5);and the tension of the same serves to preventinadvertent backward movement of the arms I58 while uncoupled from thearms I59.

When the trucks I41 reach their lowermost positions at opposite sides ofthe rack I63 and are brought to rest by the stops I53, the plungers Iare pressed inwardly by fingers I12, whereby to cause the grippers I46to retract from the record with which they were last-in engagement. Thefingers I12 (see Figs. 1 and 6) are attached to rods I13 which arejournaled in bearing brackets I14 attached to the frame, and the rodsI18 are oscillated to move the fingers I12 at the proper times by meansof cam rollers I15 which are carried by arms I16 attached to the rodsI13. The cam rollers I15 ride upon cams I11 which are attached to theends of the control shaft 36. When the rollers I15 are engaged bythe-cams I'I'I'- which engagement occurs only after the trucks I4'I havecome to rest opposite the rack-the fingers I12 are swung toward thetrucks I41 and depress the plungers I45. At other times, the fingers I12are swung outwardly into inoperative positions by means of coil springsI18 which are mounted onthe rods I13. their uppermost positions atopposite sides of the turntable 38 and are brought to rest by the stopsI56, the plungers I45 are again pressed inwardly to release the grippersI48 from the record, this time by fingers I19 which are attached to'rodsI86 journaled in bearing brackets I8I. The fingers I19 are caused toswing inwardly against the ends of the'plungers I45 by cam rollers I82which are mounted on the ends of arms I83 attached to the rods I86. Whenthe trucks arrive opposite the turntable, the rollers I82 ride up oncams I89 which are formed integrally with the cams I771, and the rodsI88 are oscillated, causing the fingers I19 to swing inwardly anddepress the plungers. At other times, the fingers I19 are swungoutwardly into inoperative positions by means of coil springs I85 whichare mounted on the rods I86.

'When the trucks I41 move downwardly into their lowermost positions intoproper register with one of the compartments in the rack, they engagewith bars I86 which are pivoted to'the frame at I81 (see Fig. 1) andforce the free ends of such bars downwardly against the yielding re- Iupward movement of the bars I86 is arrested by suitably arranged stopbrackets. During the movement of the trucks I41 along the tracks I48,the rods I must shift longitudinally within the ears I51 on the arms I58in order to compensate for the difierencesin the distance between thecontrol shaft 36 and the tracks I48 at various points throughout thelengths of the latter.

When the trucks reach Springs I89 are mounted on the rods I55'and actbetween the same and the arms I58 in such a war as to hold-the truckssnugly against the inner edges of the tracks at all times.

As the trucks I41 approach the location of the turntable 38 with arecord supported in the grippers I46, the projecting end of the plungerI45 associated with the rear truck rides under a lever I96 (see Figs. 8and 9) which is attached to a rock shaft I9I mounted in the'upperright-hand rear corner of the frame adjacent the tone arm 16. It thegrippers are carrying a 10-inch record, the plunger I45 will project outfar enough to engage with a curved surface I92 on a laterally anddownwardly offset portion of the arm I96, thereby raising the arm I96through a considerable angle, but I! the grippers are carrying a 12-inchrecord, the end of the plunger I45 will not project out far enough toengage with the lower surface I92 but will engage instead with a curvedsurface I98 on the arm a short distance above and inwardly of thesurface I 98, thereby raising the arm I96 through a smaller angle. Theshaft I9I to which the arm I98 is attached carries a depending fingerI96 which is adapted to move into engagement with one side at the tonearm I6. When the arm I88 is raised by the plunger I45, the finger I94swings the tone arm 16 over toward the record which is being depositedon the turntable by the grippers. If the record is of III-inch size, thearm I98 will swing the finger I99 quite a distance in order to push thetone arm into a position directly above the beginning of the soundgroove in the record, but if the record is of 12-inch size, the is: I9 3will push the tone arm over only far enough to bring it directly abovethe beginning of the sound groove in the larger record. The plunger I45which cooperates with and raises the I96 is carried a little beyond thecurved surfaces I92 and I93 on the arm as the grippers move into properposition to deposit a record on the turntable, but the arm I96 isprevented from dropping down again by means of a clamping strip I85which is loosely attached at I96 to a stationary bar I911. The arm I96extends between the strip I95 and the bar I97? and is clampedfrictionaliy therebetween whenever the strip I96 is recited. withrespect to the bar I 9I. After the plunger I49 raises the arm I 96 tothe correct elevation for the particular size of record being carried,the arm I96 is held up in that position by means of an angularlydisposed finger I98 which is rigidly secured to the strip I 95 and iscammed upwardly and laterally by a portion I99 01' the truck I41. Acounterweighted arm 266 is journaled on the rock shaft I9I alongside thefinger I94 and in its normal position projects laterally toward the tonearm Just a little bit farther than the finger I 94, with the resultthat, after the tone arm is lowered to bring the needle into thepreliminary grooves in the record, the slight pressure exerted againstthe side of the tone arm by the arm 266 is sufficient to slide theneedle into the first groove in case it is lowered on the smooth edge ofthe record. Movement of the arm 266 toward the right, viewing Flgpg8, islimited by engagement of the-pin or "stop? '266' with the finger I94.After the record is'played,

the withdrawal of plunger I45 from beneath arm I96 permitscounterclockwise, movement of finger I94 to inoperative position,thereby returning, by means of the pin 266', the arm 266 to initialposition. The tone arm is returned to I upon engagement with the pin202.

initial position by the finger 89 as previously plained.

' When the needle 12, in playing a record on the turntable, reaches theend of the sound groove, it enters, on one type of record, an inwardlyspiraling portion of the groove, causing the tone arm 10 to swingabruptly inward. The tone arm is provided, on the end thereof oppositethe sound box 1|, with a finger 20! (see Fig. 3) which engages with apin 202 carried by a lever 203 attached to a downwardly extending rod204. A notched lever 205 (see Fig. 10) is attached to the lower end ofthe rod 204, and, when such rod is oscillated at the completion of theplaying of one side of a record, the lever 205 is swung out of hookedengagement with a pin 206 on the end of a pivoted lever 201, resultingin the shifting of the clutch collar 26 in a manner hereinafterdescribed. If the record, however, is of the type wherein the soundgroove leads into an endless eccentric groove, a thin upwardlyspring-pressed blade 208 which is carried by the end of the tone arm 10adjacent'the finger 20I engages with a saw-toothed edge on the bottom ofa curved blade 209 which is carried by an arm 2| 0 fastened to the rod204, with the result that the slight oscillating movement of the tonearm caused by the eccentricity of the center groove in the record causesthe blade 208 to catch against the blade 209 and move the rod 204 in thesame direction that it would otherwise be moved by the finger 20I Whenthe rod 204- is turned, by either the action of the finger 20I or theblade 208, the lever 205 releases the lever 201, causing the operatingshaft 20 to be clutched to the pulley- 25 whereby to rotate the controlshaft 36 in a direction wherein the grippers I will move from the.turntable to the rack.

The lever 201 (see Fig. 10) has a recessed portion 2 which engages witha pin 2I2 on one end of a lever 2| 3 which is pivoted to the frame at 2.The lever 2I3 is provided at the other endwith a beveled nose 2|5 whichis adapted to cam against a roller 2 I6 mounted on an L-shaped lever2I 1. The lever 2I1 is pivoted to the frame at 2 I 8 and carries thepreviously described clutchthrowing arm 32. The arm 32', which forms anextension of one portion 2l9 of the lever 2", is pivotally attached tothe same at 220, and is laterally defiectible against the yieldingresistance of a spring 22I for the purpose of giving the clutch lugs 21and 28 time in which to work into the notches 29 and 30 when the lever2I1 is oscillated to shift the clutch collar 26, whereby to preventclashing ofthe clutch elements. The spring 22I is fastened across twojaws 222 which are pivoted to the portion 2I9 at 223. The jaws 222 arepressed together by the spring 22I against .two studs 224 and 225 whichare carried respectively by the arm 32 and the portion 2I9 of the lever2I1. lever 201 is disengaged from the pin 2I2 on the lever 2I3, a spring226 connected with that end of the lever 2I3 oscillates the latteragainst the yielding resistance of a weaker spring 221 connected to thelever 201 and causes the beveled nose 2 l5 of the lever 2 I3 to engagewith the roller 2I6 on the lever 2| 1 and oscillate the latter to 'shiftthe collar 26 into clutched driving engagement with the pulley 25,thereby causing the control shaft 36 to rotate in a direction whereinthe.

trucks I41 will be caused to move from the location of the turntableback to the location of the rack.

When the recessed portion 2 of the 1 230 and are drawn resilientlydownward by springs 23I, engage within notches 232 in the oilcularperipheries of disks 233 which are fixedly associated with the carriagesI42 in concentric relation to the plungers I45, causing the disks andcarriages to rotate 180 degrees as the trucks move past the locations ofthe pawls. As soon as the carriages have been rotated 180 degrees, theguide blocks I50-which have moved out of engagement with the horizontalguides I52-- move into engagement with angularly disposed portions 234of the vertical guides I5I, which portions, together with supplementalguide portions 235, maintain the guide blocks I50 in proper positionuntil they move into engagement with the vertical guides I5I. From thisdescription, it will be understood that every time that the trucks I41pass the location of the pawls 229 in returning to the rack, thecarriages I42 will be rotated 1 degrees, causing the grippers to reversethe position of the record carried by the same. When the trucks pass thelocation of the pawls 229 in moving upwardly from the rack to theturntable, however, the carriages are not rotated by the pawls 229, thelatter being merely cammed upwardly by the peripheries of the disks 233.

As soon as the reproducer 69 finishes playing a record on one side, thelever 2I1 is oscillated by the lever 2I3 and the clutch collar 26 is asa result shifted from the position shown in Fig. 10 into that shown inFig. 12, whereby to cause the operating shaft 20 to be connected withand rotated by the pulley 25. The control shaft 36 is in consequencerotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, whichrotation continues until thefinger 58, which was previously described inits association with the turntable-raising lever 56, moves intoengagement with an.

on the control shaft 36 moves into engagement with the back of the lip236 on the lever 2H and cams such lever in the reverse direction farenough to unclutch the collar 26 from the driving pulley 24. After thelever 2I3 has moved into the position shown in Fig. 12 to actuate thelever 2", it is returned to the position shown in Fig. 10

against the action of the spring 226 by means of a lever 238 (see Fig.5) which is pivoted at 239 to the frame. and is provided with a roller240 against which the lever 82 is adapted to bear. When the lever 82 isswung away fromthe control shaft 36 by the cam 05, it swings the lever238 in the same direction, and the lower end 2 of the lever 238 (seeFig. 10) engages with one side of the lever 2I3 and pushes the latterback into hooked engagement with the lever 201.

The phonograph is placed in operation by moving a finger piece 242 fromthe off position shown in Fig. 10 to the operating position shown inFigs. 11 and. 12. The finger piece is pivoted to the front of the frameat 243 and is provided with an in the rack, without further attention onthe eccentric portion 244 which, when the finger piece is in its 011position, holds a bar 245 in the position shown in Fig. 10. The bar 245is pivoted ed on the bottom of the lever 2H.

at 246 to the frame, and is provided with a beveled end 241 whichextends beneath the lever 2I1 and is adapted to engage with a roller 248mount- When the finger piece is moved from the position shown in Fig. 10to the position shown in Fig. 11, a spring 249 which is attached to theend of the bar 245 adjacent the finger piece oscillates the bar 245, andthe beveled end 241 of such bar engages with the roller 248 andoscillates the lever 2 I1 from the position shown in Fig. 10 to thatshown in Fig. 11. As soon asthe lever 2" has been oscillated by the bar245 into the-position shown in Fig. 11, the operating shaft 20 isconnected with and driven by the pulley 24, and the control shaft 36rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, from the positionshown in that figure into a position wherein the control shaft and theparts attached thereto have rotated approximately 180 degrees. In orderto prevent the spring 249 from causing the bar 245 to swing the lever2I1 from the position shown in Fig; 10 to that shown in Fig. 11 while arecord is being played, a finger 256 (see Fig. 15)' is'mounted on thelower end of one of the jaw extensions I15 in such a position as to abutagainst a. small bracket 25! on the lever 245 and hold such leveragainst movement as long as the record-handling mechanism remains at thelocation of the turntable.

The circuit of the motor II is shown schematically in Fig. .5. One lead252 from the motor connects with a bar 253 to which a switch blade 254is pivotally connected at 255, while another lead 256 of oppositepotentiality connects with a plate 251 against which the lower endof theblade 254 is adapted to slide. The upper end of the blade 254 carries afollower 258 which rides in the groove 33 in the clutch collar 25. Whenthe phonograph is shut off, the collar 25 is in the position shown inFig. 10, and the lower end of the blade 254 is opposite a notch 25% inthe plate 251-, with the circuit of the motor open. When the fingerpiece 242 is moved to start the ,operation of the phonograph, the collar26 is shifted to the position shown in Fig. 11, and the lower end of theswitch blade 254 is swung ihto contact with the portion 260 of the plate251, energizing the motor. When the record-handling mechanism reaches aposition opposite the turntable 38, the collar 26 is shifted intoneutral but not far enough to disengage the lower end of the blade 254from the portion 260 of the plate, with the result that, although thecontrol shaft 36 comes to rest, the motor continues to rotate theturntable. As soon as the record on the turntable has been playedthrough, the collar 26 is shifted from neutral into the position shownin Fig. 12 and'the lower end of the switch blade 254 is swung quicklypast the notch 25!! into contact with the opposite portion 26I of theplate.

The operation of the phonograph is as follows:

Commencing with the various parts in the positions shown in Figs. 1, 2,3, 5, 6, '7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 18 and 19, and with the rack I03 filledwith 10- inch and 12-inch records arranged at random, it

is merely necessary for the operator to swing the finger piece 242fromthe position shown in Fig. 10 to that shown in Fig. 11, whereupon thephonograph will automatically play each of the records in the rack,first on one side and then onthe other, in the order in which they arearranged part of the operator, and will repeat such performance over andover again until the operator" shuts off the phonograph by swinging thefinger piece 242 back into the position shown in Fig. 10.

As soon as the finger piece 242 is swung by the operator into thestarting position, the lever 2 I1 is caused to swing into the positionshown in Fig. 11, energizing the motor I0 and shifting the clutch collar25 to cause the control shaft 36 to rotate in the direction indicated bythe curved arrow in Fig. 1.

During approximately the first 25 degrees of rotation of the controlshaft, the trucks I41 of the record-handling mechanism remainstationary, and the cams I11 cause the fingers I12 to swing away fromthe ends of the plungers I45, allowing the grippers I40 to close in onand engage with a record standing in the particular compartment of therack which happens to be opposite the grippers. a

As soon as the control shaft 36 has completed approximately the first 25degreesof rotation, the lower cams I64 allow the arms i59 on the controlshaft to pick up the arms E53, and the trucks I41, together with thecarriages Q42 and the grippers I45 holding a record, are moved firstupwardly and then horizontally along the tracks I68 into positionswherein the record held by the grippers is centered directly over theturntable 38. Just before the grippers I45 reach that position with therecord, the plunger I45 carried by the rear truck moves under the arm Iinto camming engagement with either the surface I92 or the surface I93,depending on whether the record being carried is of IO-inch size or12-inc1i size, and, as the arm H is in consequence forced upwardly, thetone arm 10 is swung inwardly by the finger I 9 3 along the supportingarm 18 into a position wherein the needle 12 is directly over thepreliminary sound grooves in the-record. As soon as the record has beencentered on the turn. table and the tone arm has been swung into properposition, the upper cams B55 cause the arms l59 to disengage from thearms l58, and the control shaft 35 continues to rotate approxirnately 25degrees more. At about the same time, the finger 58 on the control shaftcauses the lever 55 to elevate the turntable 38 into a position whereinthe stud 53 is projected into the hole in the center of the record, thefinger I55 on the control'shaft causes the strip 94 to swing the finger89 laterally out of the path subsequently followed by the tone arm inplaying the record,

the finger 231 on the control shaft causes the.

lever 2I1 to shift the collar 26 from the position shown in Fig. 11 to aneutral position wherein it is about halfway between that position andthe position shown in Fig. 10, in which position the control shaft comesto rest.

When the record has been played on one side, the needle 12 rides intothe inwardly spiraled or eccentric end of the sound groove in the recordand either the finger 20I on the tone arm, or

the blade 208, depending upon whether the inner end of the sound groovein the record is of spiral or eccentric formation, causes the rod 204 tore lease the lever 201, thereby allowing the spring 226 to shift thecollar 26 from neutral into the position shown in Fig. 12, in whichposition it 'causes the control shaft 36 to rotate in a ection oppositeto that indicated by the caved arrow in Fig. 1.

During approximately the first 25 degrees of rotation of the controlshaft 36 in that direction, the cam 85 causes the arm I8 to lift thetone arm off of the record, the finger I00 allows the spring 93 to causethe .finger 89 to swing the tone arm I0 back along the arm I8 beyond thestarting position of the tone arm, the cams I84 allow the springs I85 toswing the fingers I18 away from the ends of the plungers I45, whereby topermit the grippers I40 to engage with the record on the turntable, thefinger 58 on the control shaft allows the lever 59 to lower 'theturntable, and the upper stationary cams I84 permit the arms I59 on thecontrol shaft to connect with the arms I58 carrying the trucks I41.

Upon the completion of the above described operations, the trucks I41,together with the carriages I42 and the grippers I40 holdingthe record,proceed to travel back along the tracks I48 to the rack. When the trucksreach the curved portions 228 of the tracks, the guiding blocks I50 onthe carriages move out of engagement with the horizontal guides I52 andthe pawls 229 engage within the notches 282 in the disks 23 3 and causethe carriages, together with the grippers and the record heldtherebetween, to rotate 180 degrees. After the carriages and thegrippers have been rotated, the guiding blocks I50 move into slidingengagement with the vertical guides I5I, and the trucks continuedownwardly along the vertically extending portions of the tracks intopositions at opposite sides of the particular compartment in the rackfrom which the record had previously been taken. The lower stationarycams I64 then release the arms I58 from the arms I59 on the controlshaft, whereby to allow the trucks I" to come to rest, and the controlshaft continues to rotate approximately 25 degrees more in the samedirection. During vthe last part of the rotation of the control shaft,the cams I" on the same cause the fingers I12 to press the plungers I45inwardly and release the record, the cam roller I on the control shaftoscillates the lever H8 and causes the disk I I0 to rotate one-sixth ofa revolution (which rotation, however, does not advance the rack sincethe pin II I then uppermost in the disk does not happen to be one of thealternate ones which project rearwardly from the disk into engagementwith the separators I04), and the finger 58 on the control shaft causesthe lever 2II to shift the collar 26 from the position shown in Fig. 12to that shown in Fig. 11, whereupon the control shaft reverses itsdirection of movement and again starts to rotate-in the directionindicated by the curved arrow in Fig. 1.

As the control shaft rotates a second time in the direction indicated bythe arrow, the grippers I40 pick up the same record again and carry itup to the turntable, the finger 89 is swung back out of the path of thetone arm, the tone arm is swung into a position directly over thepreliminary sound grooves in the record, the turntable is raised intoengagement with the record, the tone arm is lowered onto the record, thearms I58 are disconnected from the arms I59 on the control shaft, thelever 2I3 is reset by the lever 238 under the action of the cam on thecontrol shaft, and the finger 231 causes the lever 2I'I to shift thecollar 26 into a position wherein the control shaft is brought to restwhile the circuit of the motor remains closed.

After the record has been played on the second side and the needle hasreached the spiral or eccentric end of the sound groove, the collar 28is shifted into the position shown in Fig. 12, whereby to start rotationof the control shaft 36 in the direction opposite tothat indicated bythe curved arrow in Fig. 1. As soon as the control shaft commences torotate inthat direction, the tone arm is raised and swung back, therecord is picked up by the grippers, and the trucks, together with thecarriages and the grippers, 'are moved back to the rack along the tracksI48. During the return-movement of the trucks, the position ofthe'fcarriages. and the grippers holding the record is reversed 'withre- ,spect to the trucks by the action of the pawls 229, and, when thetrucks reach positions at opposite sides of the rack, they come to restand the grippers replace the record in the particular compartment fromwhich it was originally taken.

After the trucks have come to rest, the control shaft continues torotate, and, during such rotation, the roller I2I on the control shaftcauses the rack to move forwardly, whereby to bring the nextcompartmentin the rack into register with the retracted grippers. Assoon as the rack has moved forward, the finger 58 on the control shaftcauses the lever 2I'I to shift the collar 25 from the position shown inFig. 12 to that shown in Fig. 11, thereby finishing one complete cycleof operation and commencing the next.

The phonograph will continue to operate automatically in the mannerabove described, playing each of the records in the rack first on oneside and then on the other, in the order in which they are arranged inthe rack, and, afterthe last record in the rack has been played on bothsides, the cam I32 on the rack will cause the pawl I29 to be disengagedfrom the rack whereby to allow the spring I 25 to return the rack into aposition wherein the first compartment therein is again in register withthe grippers, whereupon each of the records in the rack willautomatically be played over again, first on one side and then on theother, the automatic operation continuing indefinitely until thephonograph is shut 011.

During the intervals in which the records are being moved back and forthbetween the rack and the turntable, the needle I2 may be automaticallychanged by a needle-changing device of any suitable character.

I claim:

1. In a phonograph, in combination, a record magazine, a turntable, aplurality of grippers for engaging a record in the magazine and placingit upon the turntable, a reproducer, means for automatically placing thereproducer in engagement with the preliminary sound grooves on therecord irrespective of the size of the record means for removing thereproducer from the record when played, means for causing the grippersto remove the. record from the turntable, turn the record over andreplace it upon the turntable.

2. In a phonograph, a record magazine, a turntable, means fortransferring a record from said magazine to said turntable, a reproducermovable vertically toward and from said turntable, means I

